Pets In Disasters: How You Can Save the Animals
September 22nd, 2008 by Amy Breton
You feel the need to help as you watch the devastation unfolding on the television. Innocent animals becoming innocent victims. They are homeless and need rescuing, shelter, food and water.
Before you can help the animals of a disaster, you must be able to help yourself first. Be sure to have a disaster plan in place for you, your family and your pets before you decide to get involved on a local or state level. Even if you have never worked with animals, you can help. Animal response teams need people who can gather owner information, take pictures of pets, organize supplies and put information into computer databases.
You can become involved on a local (town) level, state level or with a well-established independent organization that has relationships on local and state levels. If you are interested in helping animals during disasters, you should join a team. You may not be allowed to help unless you were a member prior to the disaster occurring.
Becoming involved with an animal disaster team isn’t for everyone. It can be mentally and physically exhausting to respond to a disaster. Most disaster responders will experience some post traumatic disorder symptoms and, because you may work in a dangerous environment, you may become injured. However, the feeling of helping to rescue or care for an animal is very rewarding, and that is why many people choose to volunteer and accept some level of risk.
What laws are in place to help protect pets during a disaster?
After Hurricane Katrina, the PETS Act was signed into law by President Bush on October 6th, 2006. The PETS Act requires local and state emergency preparedness authorities to include in their evacuation plans how they will accommodate household pets and service animals in case of a disaster.
How can I get involved with my town?
Check to see what plans your town has available for evacuating animals. Your town disaster plan is public record. According to the PETS Act, the plan should include the pets in your town. If your town does not have a plan that includes pets, you could offer to help write one. Talk to local animal businesses to see if they want to help you, such as veterinarians and shelters. You can also try to start your own community animal disaster team (CART). Involving the animal control officer, police, fire and other local officials is important for a complete plan. A neighboring town may have already created a good plan and may be willing to help you start one in your own town.
How can I get involved on a state level?
Most states are actively trying to form State Animal Response Teams (SART). After Hurricane Floyd devastated the state of North Carolina in 1999, over 3 million domestic and farm animals were lost. After the disaster subsided, a team of people got together and talked about how the disaster could have been handled more effectively. They created the first ever SART team. Since then, North Carolina’s SART has been the model for many other states’ animal response teams, which establish complete disaster plans for their states.
SART teams require members to remain active, meet certain training requirements and sometimes undergo background checks to become a member. Trainings on topics such as hazardous material and animal handling are usually required. Being a member of SART allows you to respond on a state level should a disaster occur that is more widespread than just the local government can handle.
How can I become a member of an independent organization?
There are many well-established independent organizations in this country that have set up animal response teams. These organizations have built relationships with states and towns so that they can be called on for their services if a disaster strikes. Team members are expected to fulfill certain requirements similar to those of the SART teams. Most large organizations permit their members to travel to other states to help during a disaster. This allows for volunteers from around the country to be utilized in various states.
How many teams can I become involved with?
You can become involved in all levels of disaster preparedness. Being involved in multiple organizations allows you to not only respond on a local level, but also to a disaster that may occur across the country in another state.
For more information:
Google.com (search keywords: animal response team)
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September 22nd, 2008 at 10:21 am
Great information here. It gives concrete suggestions for people who have always wanted to help but never known where to start.